Brandon Lee, 19
Just back from southeast Monrovia and unincorporated parts. Police had left Almond Avenue, but a photographer served to clue me into the crime scene. Despite being told "no one is talking," I managed to score an invite into the bullet-scarred home where Brandon Lee, 19 of Duarte, was shot in front of last night.
A couple of Brandon's relations lived there. His great-granduncle in-law(?) provided some contact information that eventually led to his parents. Emerging from the home just after 10 o'clock, I ran into Frank Girardot who'd come out to put his eyes on some of the crime scenes.
Fed some info back to the newsroom for some of the web updates your seeing now, some of which I've gone back and tweaked a bit once back in the office.
Brandon was to be a linebacker at PCC next semester, his father said, and the bullets which killed him weren't the first to cut short his ambition. Last summer, just before he left for junior college in Fresno, Brandon was shot in the arm. His father blames Latino gangs for both incidents. He says Brandon wasn't a banger, but hung out with them.
Don't have details on this image but photo dug it up from their archive of sports coverage.
I didn't know Brandon Lee personally but I had the privilege to see him play football. He played against my son. Brandon was a gifted athlete and I'm very saddened by this news. My heart goe's out to his family and the entire Duarte Falcon family. It's time for all of us to lift up the communitees of Duarte and Monrovia and pray for the violence to stop.
How's hanging out with gang bangers and different from being one?
How's hanging out with gang bangers any different from being one?